Resource Library: Multimedia/Resource Library: Multimedia.iso/archvrs/os2/av145/av.hlp

OS/2 Help File | 1992-11-07 | 51.0 KB | 889 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. Introduction ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

AV does a lot of things, but it's primary use is usually as an Archive Viewer
(hence the name).  An archive, in case you didn't know, is a collection of
files bundled together, usually compressed to make them smaller, into one file.
Archives are often used to distribute files over Bulletin Board Systems and for
backup purposes.  AV can view the contents of archives (including reading text
files and executing programs inside the archive).  It can also extract files
from the archive.  All this is accomplished with the help of the archive
program itself (the program that created the archive).  Registered versions of
AV can also build archives without having to resort to the command line.

AV can also be used as a program launcher, to start applications, and as a file
maintenance tool, to delete, copy and move files and directories.

For more detailed information on AV, click the Index button on the help manager
screen.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Starting AV ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

AV can be started from a command line prompt by typing "AV" followed by the
enter key.  Optionally, you can follow that with a space and one or more
filenames that AV will act upon at once.  If you enter a directory (ended with
a backslash), AV will move into that directory at once.

You can also start AV from an OS/2 2.0 Workplace program object.  I suggest you
place %* in the Parameters field of the object's Settings so that dropping an
archive onto AV causes AV to be loaded and view the archive at once.  You might
also want to associate common archive extensions (*.ARC, *.ZIP, *.LZH, etc.)
with AV under the Associations Settings, so double-clicking an archive object
will cause AV to be loaded.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Select File ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

A filename may be entered directly into the File entry field, or you may select
a file from the Files listbox.  Listboxes are also provided for Directories and
Drives, to allow you to move freely around your file system.  Across the bottom
of the window, from left to right, are the Drives, Directories and Files
listboxes.

Once a filename is entered (or selected by double click, or highlighting and
selecting ViewArc from the Files submenu), AV attempts to determine whether or
not the file is an archive.  If it seems to be, it attempts to get a listing of
files in the archive, with the aid of the configured archiver.  If the list
attempt succeeds, you get the second major dialog box, Archive Contents.  If
the file does not appear to be an archive, or if the list attempt fails, the
software you have specified under Viewer in Configuration is called to let you
view the file (or a cheap internal viewer is used if you haven't configured
AV), unless the file is an executable program and you have AV in Launcher mode,
in which case it is run.  These default operations may be overridden by
selecting (highlighting) a file and choosing a different action from the Files
submenu.

(Most of the time, using AV consists of selecting one or more things,  then
choosing something to do with your selection.)

By the way, if no file is highlighted the Delete and Move options apply to the
highlighted directory, if any.

There are a few menu options that don't apply to selected files.
Config->Associations calls up AV's Associations dialog. Misc->Group Manager
calls up AV's Group Manager.  Misc->Command Prompt calls up a copy of CMD.EXE
for you; a shortcut.  Files->Mass File Mgmt calls up the Mass File Maintenance
(MFM) dialog, and Files->Rescan rescans the current directory, handy for when
you've changed diskettes or another process has diddled with the files in the
current directory. Config->Defaults restores AV's saved defaults if you've made
temporary changes. Config->Save Position saves Select File (Master)'s current
screen position. Config->EditArc lets you edit archiver details directly, and
Config->AddArc lets you add an archiver type in the same manner. Masks->AddMask
adds the current mask to the Masks listbox, Masks->DelMask deletes the
highlighted mask from the Masks listbox, and Masks->Save Masks saves the
current set of masks.  Dirs->Make creates a directory, automatically creating
many levels if required.

Hint:  If you have registered your copy of AV, you can use the Mass File
Maintenance dialog to select many files upon which to perform actions,
including viewing, executing, moving, copying and deleting.

Note that "accelerator keys" (keys you can press to give the same command that
would be given by a menu item) are listed on the menu beside the menu item
name.  For instance, " View   F4" would mean that pressing the F4 key would
have the same effect as clicking on View. Many functions also have control keys
(for instance, View is CTRL-V as well as F4).

Hint:  When the cursor is in the Directories, Files or Masks list boxes you can
click the second mouse button (usually the right button) to get a menu of the
most likely choices for that listbox's items. You'll still need to preselect
the item on which to work in most cases.

To exit AV, click the Exit menu item on the AV: Select (Master) Select File
dialog (the dialog that normally comes up first when you start AV). When AV is
not in Launcher mode, pressing the ESCape key while that dialog is active will
also exit AV.

Note that when AV is used as a replacement Workplace Shell, the Exit menu item
on the Master Select File window reads "Shutdown."

See also:

Archive Contents
Configuration
Associations
Build Archive
Copy/Move files
Mass File Maintenance
Group Manager
Registration
Installing AV
Starting AV
Filemasks
Replacing the Workplace


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.1. Associations ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Associations dialog lets you associate a filemask (like *.dwg) with a
particular program.  Then, when AV is in Launcher mode, if you enter or
double-click on a filename that matches the mask, the program is run with the
datafile as part of its argument string (in our *.dwg example, it might start
AutoCAD to edit or plot the drawing).  Other examples might be associating
*.mak files with a compiler make utility and *.c files with a text editor.

You can Clone AV to "tear off" a Select File window.  You might leave this
cloned window "looking into" a particular directory filled with datafiles, and
use it to launch an application on selected files as needed.

The Associations dialog is reached via the Assoc item under Select File's
Config submenu.

In the Run entry box you can use the special symbol "%*" to mean "place the
selected filename here."  Otherwise, AV concats a space and then the filename
to the string you enter in the Run field.  The special symbol "%!" can be used
to insert the full directory path where the selected filename resides.

See also:

Select File
Mass Copy/Move


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.2. Build Archive ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Build Archive dialog lets you create a new archive (or update an old
archive).  When you select Build from Select File's Misc submenu, you'll be
presented with a dialog box that let's you select files to include in the new
archive.  You can also enter a name for the archive in the entry field toward
the top of the screen (or change a name that's already there; if a file was
selected in Select File, its name is copied to the entry field assuming that
it's an old archive to be updated).

You can check the Move to Archive box if you want the original files erased
after being placed into the archive.  Check the Include Directories box if you
want to include directory pathnames in the archive (the selected archiver must
be capable of this, and ARCHIVER.BB2 must have the proper control string in it
[Note: in this version of AV it really doesn't matter; Include Directories
isn't implemented yet]).

If you're using a mouse, single-click a filename to highlight it.  Click again
to unhighlight.  If you're using the keyboard, the spacebar will
highlight/unhighlight.  Once you've highlighted a few files in the Files
listbox, click the Add button.  The files are transfered to the To Archive
listbox.  If you highlight files in the To Archive listbox and click Remove,
they disappear from the To Archive listbox.

The Drives dropdown box and Dirs listbox let you move around the file system
adding files to the To Archive listbox.

Once you've moved all the files you want into the To Archive listbox, click
Okay. If the archive filename in the entry box has a recognizable extension
(i.e. .ARC, .LZH, .ZIP, etc.), AV proceeds to build the archive.  Otherwise
you're presented with another small dialog box that lets you select the
archiver to use.

Once AV has an archive filename, some files to put into the archive, and an
archiver type to go by, it begins building the archive.

Build Archive is available only in registered versions of AV.

See also:

Select File
Registration
Filemasks
Build Screen Snapshot


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.2.1. Build Screen Snapshot ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

I suggest that you maximize temporarily to view this properly.  Note that
enhancements may have been made since this snapshot was taken.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.3. Copy/Move Files ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

In the Select File dialog box, highlight a file.  Then select Copy or Move from
the Files submenu.  A new dialog box pops up that lets you choose a destination
path, and possibly change the filename (allowing you to rename as you move or
copy the file, or even rename without moving or copying).

The filename is in an entry field toward the top of the dialog box, and can be
changed to allow renaming.  The original filename remains in a text box for
reference.  A new path is selected using the Drives drop-down box and the
Directories listbox.  The "current" new path is in a readonly entry field for
positive identification.

Click Okay once you have the new path (and filename, if renaming is desired)
set.  This command copies or moves one file at a time.

Copy and Move are available in unregistered copies of AV, but only registered
copies have Mass File Maintenance.

See also:

Select File
Mass File Maintenance
Registration


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.4. Mass File Maintenance ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This command (MFM) moves, copies, deletes or otherwise manipulates many files
at one time.

To use this dialog, add files from the "Files" listbox to the "To be acted
upon" listbox using the Add button -- highlight the files in the Files listbox,
then click Add.  To remove files from the "To be acted upon" listbox, highlight
them, then click the Remove button.

When your files are selected as above, choose an action from the Copy, Delete,
Move, Command, 1Command, View and Exec radio buttons.  Then click Okay.  If you
chose Copy or Move, be sure to move to the directory to which you want the
files copied or moved before clicking Okay.  If you chose Command or 1Command
you'll be asked for the command to run against the files.  The command can be
an intrinsic CMD.EXE command like ERASE or a program file like TOUCH.EXE.

AV will not prompt you on a copy or move, and will only prompt you on delete or
if the copy/move target exists if you have "Confirm" checked. You will be
notified if a copy, move or delete fails.

Here're a couple of examples of how you might use this dialog:

Move to a directory using the Drives and Directories controls.  Enter "*.BAK"
as the Mask.  Click on the side of the Files listbox to be sure it's active,
then click on the +All button to highlight all files in the listbox.  Now click
on the Add button to place the files in the "To be acted upon" listbox.  Click
the Delete radio button, then click the Okay button.  This action deletes all
*.BAK files in the directory. An experienced mouser can do this in about the
same time than it takes to type "DEL d:\path\*.BAK" on a command line, and you
don't have to load a command line prompt first.

A programmer might select a group of .OBJ files and run a Touch utility on them
using Command or 1Command.  The difference between the two buttons is that
Command starts a session for each file it acts on, whereas 1Command starts one
session with all filenames listed as arguments.

If you've just received several archives and want to look at all of them at
once, you can use the View radio button after Adding all the archives to the
"To be acted upon" listbox to have AV put up contents windows for all the
archives at once.

Hint:  If you have a Group named "MassCmds" (case is not important) AV will
present you with another checkbox in MFM, "Pick Cmd." If this box is checked
and you select either Command or 1Command, AV will let you pick one of the
programs from that Group, saving you some typing if you use MFM frequently for
repetitive actions.

Mass File Maintenance is available only in registered copies of AV.

See also:

Configuration
Copy/Move Files
Registration
Select File
Filemasks
MFM Screen Snapshot


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.4.1. MFM Screen Snapshot ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

I suggest that you maximize temporarily to view this properly.  Note that
enhancements may have been made since this snapshot was taken.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.5. Installing AV ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Installing AV is fairly easy:

Copy AV.HLP to the directory named in the HELP environment variable (usually
C:\OS2\HELP). Copy ARCHIVER.BB2 to a directory listed in the PATH or DPATH
environment variables. Optionally copy AV.EXE to a directory listed in the PATH
environment variable.  This lets you execute AV from any OS/2 command line.
The ARCHIVER.BB2 file is what AV uses to know about archives.  The file is
fully commented to allow you to make changes to it.  Changes may have to be
made when you upgrade your archivers, or if you use a different archiver than
those listed in the file.

DOS archivers will probably not work with AV.  Get OS/2 versions; they work
better anyway.

It is possible to use the Launching and Groups portions of AV without
installing ARCHIVER.BB2.  You won't be able to view archive contents, but the
rest of the program will function normally.

AV stores Associations in a file named AVASSOC.AV2.  By default, this file goes
in the first directory listed in DPATH.  You can copy it somewhere else on your
PATH or DPATH and AV will keep it there afterwards. AV makes a back up of this
file whenever it changes it, named AVASSOC.AVB.

AV stores Groups in a file named AVGROUP.AV2.  Same notes apply as for
AVASSOC.AV2.  The back up file is named AVGROUP.AVB.

AV stores other information in an .INI file named AV.INI. This is an
OS/2-maintained file and AV does not provide a backup.

In the event of data corruption, you can erase these files (or restore backups)
to bring AV back to its default (or saved) state.

See also:

Select File
Replacing the Workplace
Associations
Groups
Starting AV


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.6. Replacing the Workplace ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

To install AV as a Workplace replacement:

Follow the steps under Installing AV. Change your CONFIG.SYS file to
SET RUNWORKPLACE=<d:><\dir\>AV.EXE.
Shutdown OS/2 and reboot so the change can take effect.

Note that if you REM out the existing SET RUNWORKPLACE line you can replace it
if AV isn't what you thought it would be.  If you have the memory to run
Workplace, I recommend you do so.  You should really only consider using AV as
the Workplace if you have less than 8 megs of RAM. If you ran OS/2 1.2 or 1.3
you know the basic type of functionality to expect.

See also:

Select File
Installing AV
Starting AV
Group Manager


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Configuration ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

AV's Configuration dialog lets you change the programs that you use to view and
edit files, the current file mask and the extraction directory (where files
extracted from archives are placed).

The Viewer field is the default reader used to view files, unless you leave it
blank, in which case AV uses a cheap internal viewer (an MLE). If a file has a
special extension (i.e. .INF, .ICO, .MET, .BMP, .PKT or .GIF), a special viewer
is invoked.  The Editor field is the program used whenever you request to edit
a file.  AV attempts to use defaults for these programs that you might have
around (for instance, the default editor is E.EXE, the OS/2 System Editor), but
you can change them as you prefer (you might, for example, want to use EPM.EXE
instead of E.EXE, a much better editor that also comes with OS/2).

Include extensions on all programs.

There are also several checkbox toggles to alter the way AV behaves:

Confirm View determines whether AV will check with you before displaying a file
that wasn't an archive.

Confirm Delete determines whether AV will check with you before deleting a
file.

Confirm Convert determines whether AV will present a warning box to you before
converting an archive from one archiver type to another.

Show Archives Only determines whether AV will let non-archives (as determined
by file extension) show in the Select File dialog.

Use Foreground When Possible determines whether AV runs most everything in
separate sessions or not.  At times AV can run things detached to keep the
screen uncluttered.

Extract w/ Directories determines whether AV will try to extract directories
along with files from archives.  This is pretty much obsolete now and may
vanish soundlessly into the night.

Extract Follows determines whether the Extract Directory follows AV around your
file system or stays put where you started AV from (or subsequently changed it
to using this dialog box).

Launch determines whether AV will attempt to launch files that seem to be
executable when picked in the Select File dialog.

If StartMin is checked, AV will minimize itself if any Groups autostart.

Extended selection listboxes, if checked, changes the list box style for
subsequently created listboxes that allow multiple selection to the OS/2 2.0
Extended selection type (you can "drag" the mouse to select multiple files).

Save As Defaults must be checked for AV to permanently save these items into
AV.INI. Otherwise your changes are only retained for the current session.  Note
that the Extract Directory is never saved.

See also:

Select File
Archive Contents
Filemasks
Editting Archiver Details


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Archive Contents ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Archive Contents dialog box contains a listbox showing the files contained
in an archive selected at the Select File dialog.  The title bar of this dialog
box shows the archive's name.

If you highlight a file in the listbox and press [Enter] (or double-click on
it), AV temporarily extracts and views the file.  Note that the listbox allows
multiple selections; only the last highlighted file is viewed.  If the file
being viewed is an archive within the archive, another Archive Contents dialog
box appears.

You can perform other actions on files in the archive, or the archive as a
whole.  The menus allow you to delete files, edit a file (and optionally
refresh the archive with the editted file), convert the entire archive to a
different format, extract files, and test the entire archive.  They also allow
you to highlight, or mark, all files in the archive (deletion and extraction
require files to be highlighted), and give you access to the Configuration
dialog box.

You can give AV a mask to selectively filter the files displayed in the
listbox.  Filtering doesn't remove files from the archive, just from the
display you see.

Hint:  When the pointer is in the list box, the second button (usually the
right button) will bring up a menu with the most likely choices.  You'll still
need to preselect the item(s) with which you want to work.

See also:

Select File
Configuration


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Groups ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Groups are limited in unregistered copies of AV only.  They behave something
like groups in OS/2 1.x, and are intended for situations where AV displaces the
OS/2 2.0 Workplace as the primary program launcher, such as might be desired on
a low memory machine.

The basic idea is that you create Groups containing your programs, then run
your programs from these Groups.  This lets you organize your workspace (the
desktop) and get to all related utilities simultaneously, while keeping other
Groups minimized or turned off to avoid clutter. Then, when you begin a
different job, you can switch Groups to get the proper environment for the new
job.

For instance, you might have Groups for programming, word processing, system
utilities and games, and keep only the Group you're currently using programs
from "open," keeping the others minimized or closed.

Save saves the Group's current position on the desktop. Group Manager calls up
the Group Manager.  Master gets the Select File dialog back. The other menu
commands manipulate the programs in the Group.

See also:

Adding/Editting Groups
Adding/Editting Programs
Group Manager
Registration
Move/Copy Between Groups


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.1. Move/Copy Between Groups ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This dialog is used to select a Group from a listbox.  The Group selected is
the Group to which you want to Move or Copy a program.

You cannot Move/Copy a program to a Group if the Group already has a program
with the same title.  Change the title of one of the programs if there is a
conflict, then try again.

See also:

Group Manager
Groups
Adding/Editting Programs


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.2. Adding/Editting Programs ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This dialog lets you add a program to a Group.  The Title entry field is an
arbitrary name; no need to use the program's name.  The Prog field is for the
fully qualified pathname of the program (including drive and directories).  The
Path field specifies the drive and directory in which the program is started.

The Minimize, Maximize and Fullscreen radio buttons control how an application
is started (obviously you can't minimize or maximize a fullscreen-only app, nor
run a PM app fullscreen).  The Keep checkbox determines whether a window closes
when the program terminates.  The Autostart checkbox determines whether the
application is automatically started when the Group is started.  The Prompt box
determines whether you are given an opportunity to edit the command line before
it's passed to OS/2, probably to add arguments to the program (for instance, to
add a filename to the command line that calls up a text editor).

Double-clicking, or highlighting with the spacebar and pressing [Enter], on a
program in the listbox causes it to be executed.

See also:

Group Manager
Groups
Adding/Editting Groups


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. Group Manager ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Group Manager dialog box lets you control your Groups, collections of
programs that can be launched.  These Groups are somewhat similar to the Groups
under OS/2 1.3.

Save causes the position of all open Groups on the desktop to be saved (except
minimized groups).  Exit closes the Group Manager (which may be reopened from
Select File or any Group).  Master gets the Select File dialog back.  The rest
of the menu commands are used to manipulate your Groups.

An existing Group is opened by double-clicking on its listbox title, or
highlighting the title with the spacebar and then pressing [Enter], or
highlighting and selecting Open from the Groups submenu.  New Groups start out
with no program entries (naturally).

Note that Groups are limited in unregistered copies of AV; only two Groups may
be saved, although many may be created.  You should be able to evaluate AV's
Groups with this restriction.

See also:

Groups
Adding/Editting Groups
Registration


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.1. Adding/Editting Groups ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting Add or Edit in the Group Manager brings up this dialog box.

To add a Group, simply enter a title.  Optionally, you can check the Autostart
or Start Minimized buttons.  Autostart Groups are opened when AV begins.  Start
Minimized Groups come up initially as icons (or in the minimized window viewer
if so configured by the OS/2 2.0 Workplace).

See also:

Groups
Group Manager
Adding/Editting Programs


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. Registration ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Limitations in the unregistered AV:

Build an archive and Mass File Management are disabled. You can save only two
Groups.  You must click past an intial About box.  The limit for files within
an archive is 200 instead of 500.

How to register AV:

AV can be registered by private individuals by sending $25.00 US in check or
money order (sorry, no plastic) to:


Mark Kimes
542 Merrick
Shreveport, LA  USA  71104
[phone] data
Fidonet#1:380/16


Registration gets you a current version of AV with all features activated, and
free upgrades for at least one year.

The unregistered version of AV may be used by private individuals without
charge (but you have to pay to get the registered version with its extra
features).  Obviously, AV will be improved faster and better if more people
register (because my wife won't complain so much if some money comes in;
tickles her to death to see the hobby help pay for itself :-).

Registration is _mandatory_ for use by businesses, governments or religious
organizations; any commercial use and/or for a profit. Commercial licenses are
$50.00 per machine (bulk rates available on request).

AV is copyright (c) 1992 by M. Kimes -- all rights reserved


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. Editting Archiver Details ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This dialog box allows you to edit the details of an archiver. Entry boxes are
present for all the eighteen fields represented in ARCHIVER.BB2.

In the event that you attempt to list an archive and AV feels you've probably
bungled the entry in ARCHIVER.BB2, you'll be given an opportunity to use this
dialog to fix the entry.  In this case, you'll see the listbox at the right of
the dialog filled with the listing of the archive that your archiver made.  You
can highlight a line and click the << button next to the Start List or End List
fields to move the line to that entry field (these are the most common
mistakes, and AV cannot find any files if the Start List string is wrong).  You
can double-click on a listbox line to have AV "parse" it into the Fld# text
boxes for you, to make it easier to judge field positions for sizes, dates, and
filenames.  The filename field in particular is extremely important.  If it's
too high, AV finds no files.  If it's "in range" but wrong, AV gets the wrong
fields for filenames.

You may still need to refer to your archiver's documentation, or run it to get
the help on its command syntax.  AV can't do everything for you, but it holds
your hand as best it can.

Refer to the ARCHIVER.BB2 file that came with AV for additional information and
an example.

When you've completed editting the archiver's details, click Okay.  AV will ask
you if you want to rewrite ARCHIVER.BB2 (be sure you save the original copy for
its complete notes; AV will back it up one version to ARCHIVER.BAK).  If you
don't rewrite ARCHIVER.BB2, changes are good only for the current session
(handy for testing).

You can also get to this dialog box from Select File's Config submenu.

See also:

Archiver Details Fields


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.1. About Archiver Details Fields ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

ID  This field contains an ID for the archiver; something for human
consumption.  An example might be "LHArc".

Add  This field should contain the command that creates and adds files to an
archive.  An example might be "PKZIP.EXE -a". Note that commands should include
the extension so that AV can check them without guessing.

Move  This field should contain the command that moves files to the archive
(adds then deletes the file).  An example might be "ARC.EXE mwn".

Extension  This field contains the extension normally associated with files
created by this archiver.  An example might be "ZOO" for files created by the
Zoo archiver.

Extract  This field contains the command that extracts files from the archive.
This command should not delete the files from the archive when it extracts
them, and *must* be present for AV to show you a member of the archive
(commands other than Extract and List may be left blank if necessary).  An
example might be "UNZIP.EXE -o".  Note the "-o" option given; this tells
UNZIP.EXE to automatically overwrite any existing files (AV will check to see
if any of the files exist and warn you if so).  It's important to always
include your archiver's "don't stop for user input" option; some things occur
as detached processes and you can't interact with them; the program would be
hung, which is uncool.

Extract w/Dirs  This field contains the command that extracts files from the
archive and places them into directories embedded in the archive.  An example
might be "LH.EXE x /o /s".

Signature  This field contains the signature for the archive type.  There is
usually a byte or few in a particular place in any archive that indicates that
it is, indeed, an archive of that type.  AV uses these signatures to "sniff
out" which archiver is used to manipulate the archive.  Since these signatures
sometimes contain characters which are "unprintable," you can use \x<hexnum> to
represent any "strange" characters.

To determine what an archiver's signature is, either ask the archiver's author
or check several different archives of the type for one or more bytes present
in each at the same location, usually near the beginning of the file.

This field must be entered and valid for AV to detect this type of archive (see
also Sig(nature) Pos(ition)).

List  This field contains the command to list the archive's contents.  This
command *must* be present and correct for AV to work properly with this type of
archive.  An example might be "ZOO.EXE v".

Test  This field contains the command to test the archive's integrity.  An
example might be "PKUNZIP.EXE -t".

Delete  This field contains the command to delete files from the archive.  An
example might be "LH.EXE /o /d".

Sig(nature) Pos(ition)  This field contains a number indicating how many bytes
into the file the signature is located.  If this number is negative, AV looks
from the end of the file instead of the beginning.

F(ile)Name Pos(ition)  This field tells AV which field on the line of an
archive listing is the filename.  Fields are numbered from 0. This field must
be present and correct for AV to get the right filenames from the archive
listing.

To understand what "field on the line of an archive listing" means, think of a
text line as being broken up into tokens, or words, separated by spaces.  These
tokens, or words, are fields.  Therefore,

I like Ike.

contains three fields.  Field 0 is "I", field 1 is "like", and field 3 is
"Ike."

OldS(i)z(e) Pos(ition)  This field tells AV which field on the line of an
archive listing is the old (uncompressed) size of the file.  If this isn't
available or you don't care about it, you can enter a -1 to disable detection
of this field entirely.

NewS(i)z(e) Pos(ition)  This field tells AV which field on the line of an
archive listing is the new (compressed) size of the file. If this isn't
available or you don't care about it, you can enter a -1 to disable detection
of this field entirely.

Date Pos(ition)  This field tells AV which field on the line of an archive
listing is where the time/datestring is.  If this isn't available or you don't
care about it, you can enter a -1 to disable detection of this field entirely.

NumDateF(ie)lds  This field tells AV how many fields comprise the
time/datestring.

Here's an example of an ARC listing (5.12mpl, command "ARC l"; you may need to
widen the help windows for this to look right...):

Name      Length   Date
============  ========  =========   <--this line is start-of-list
MAKEFILE      374  28 Nov 89
QSORT.C      14279  29 Nov 89
QSORT.EXE     24629  29 Nov 89
STUFF.H       371  29 Nov 89
    ====  ========        <--this line is end-of-list
Total    4   39653

Note the filename is in position 0, old length in position 1, and the date
starts in position 2, with 3 parts, and there's no new length field (so it'd be
-1).  Compare that to the archiver entry for ARC 5.12mpl in the "stock"
ARCHIVER.BB2 and you should get a feel for what all those fields mean.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10. About Filemasks ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Wildcard matching is not case-sensitive.

If a filename does not have a period, an implicit one is automatically appended
to the end during matching operations.

If multiple filemasks (separated by a semicolon) or a single filemask with a
trailing semicolon are used, some characters have the following special
meaning:

 ?  A question mark matches one character, unless what it would match is a
period, slash or backslash, in which case it matches no characters.

 *  An asterisk matches characters from the source to the target until it finds
a filename character that matches the non-wild character following it in the
filemask, or a period, slash, backslash or the end of the filename and/or
filemask.

Therefore, "*.f?o" matches "anything.foo" but not "anything.foe".

If only a single filemask is used, standard OS/2 wildcarding rules apply.

Up to 24 masks may be "cascaded" by separation with semicolons. When specifying
multiple filemasks, you can use '\' as the first character of a mask to mean
_don't_ match this filespec.

Masks may be saved and recalled from the listbox you'll find beside filemask
entry boxes.  To put masks into the listbox, click the Add> button beside the
listbox and the current mask will be added to the listbox.  To delete a mask,
highlight it and click the Del> button. (Note:  In the Select File dialog
you'll find Add Mask and Delete Mask  under the Masks submenu instead of the
buttons discussed above).

To save the wildcards that are in the list, select Save Masks from the Masks
submenu in the Select File dialog. The masks are automatically loaded when AV
starts, and reloaded if you select Defaults from Select File's Config submenu.
The masks are saved in AV.INI.  If you have no saved masks, AV will put a few
in as samples; save at least "*" to avoid this, if desired.

Note that the "Archives Only" and "EXEs Only" filters work with your filemasks;
files that get through must meet all criteria.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 11. About Program Arguments ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Enter any optional arguments to the program here as you would on the command
line.  Remember that, when passing commands to CMD.EXE like DIR, it's CMD.EXE
/C DIR, not just CMD.EXE DIR.

See also (in the Command Reference CMDREF.INF):

CMD.EXE

START command


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 12. About Viewer ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

First, note that this is just a simple MLE viewer; you can use a better one by
entering a program in the Viewer entry field of the Config dialog.  This MLE
viewer is subject to OS/2 limitations (i.e. it'll only load about 58K of a
file).  Future 32-bit PM enhancements may do away with that limiation.

MLE keystroke commands:

Escape     Exit the viewer Ctrl+Ins    Causes the selection region to be copied
to the clipboard.

Dn Arrow    Sets the cursor point to the closest insertion point on the
following line, then sets the anchor point to the cursor point.

Shft+Dn Arrow Causes the cursor point to be moved to the closest insertion
point on the following line.  The anchor point does not move.

Up Arrow    Sets the cursor point to the closest insertion point on the
preceding line, then sets the anchor point to the cursor point.

Shft+Up    Sets the cursor point to the closest insertion point on the
preceding line. The anchor point is not moved.

Rt Arrow    Sets the cursor point to the insertion point one character
following the cursor point.  The anchor point is set to the cursor point.

Shft+Rt    Causes the cursor point to be set to the insertion point immediately
following the previous cursor point.  The anchor point is not moved.

Lft and Shft+Lft Work analogously.

Ctrl+Rt    Moves the cursor point to the insertion point immediately preceding
the next word in the text including trailing spaces, and sets the anchor point
to be equal to the cursor point. The EOL (hard line-break) and tab characters
are treated as words.

Ctrl+Shft+Rt Moves only the cursor point in the same way as Ctrl+Rt, but leaves
the anchor point unmoved.

Ctrl+Lft    Moves the cursor point to the preceding insertion point at the
beginning of a word, and sets the anchor point to be equal to the cursor point.
The EOL (hard line-break) and tab characters are treated as words.

Ctrl+Shft+Lft Moves only the cursor point in the same way as Ctrl+Lft but
leaves the anchor point unmoved.

Pgdn and Pgup  Cause the display to be scrolled one screen at a time in either
direction.  This behavior is the same as would be encountered during a pgdn or
pgup caused by the scroll-bar.

Ctrl+Pgdn and Ctrl+Pgup Cause the display to be scrolled one screen at a time
to the right or left respectively. This behavior is the same as would be
encountered during a pgrt or pglft caused by the scroll-bar.

Home      Sets the cursor point to the insertion point at the beginning of the
line containing the cursor point, and sets the anchor point equal to (insert
mode) or one character following (overtype mode).

Shft+Home   Moves the cursor point to the insertion point at the beginning of
the line. The anchor point is not moved.

End      Sets the anchor point to the insertion point at the end of the line
containing the cursor point.  If the last character on the line is a line-break
character, the anchor is positioned just before it.  The cursor is set equal to
the anchor.

Shft+End   Moves the cursor point to the insertion point at the end of the
line, as above.  The anchor point is not moved.

Ctrl+Home   Moves the cursor point to the insertion point at the beginning of
the document.  The anchor point is set equal to (insert mode) or one character
following it (overtype mode).

Ctrl+End    Moves the anchor point to the insertion point at the end of the
document. The cursor point is set to be equal to the anchor point (insert mode)
or one character preceding it (overtype mode).

Ctrl+Shft+Home Moves the cursor point in the same way as Ctrl+Home, but leaves
the anchor point unmoved.

Ctrl+Shft+End Moves the cursor point in the same way as Ctrl+End, but leaves
the anchor point unmoved.